The Worm and the Butterfly

After telling her son Michael the fable of “The Worm and the Butterfly”, Juliet, a soldier and mother, falls into a disturbing dream and finds herself alone behind enemy lines. Lost among trees and silence, she meets Sam, an enemy child, whom she takes as a prisoner. Together, they wander through visions and death, until they find shelter in an abandoned farmhouse. Upon waking, Juliet hears a voice calling her: it’s Michael, but she doesn’t recognize him. The boy insists, begging her to tell the fable again, and only then does Juliet remember her son. They play, they chase each other, and the little boy runs after an imaginary butterfly ,but soon after, Michael vanishes. In his place, only Sam remains. Desperate, Juliet searches everywhere for her son, until she steps on a landmine, which explodes and takes her leg. Wounded, suspended between life and death, Juliet finally sees the imaginary butterfly her son was chasing. Sam runs to find help, but he encounters three enemy soldiers; he tries to confront them but is killed. Juliet wakes up, safe, in her bed.